Journal box



Jan. 14, 1936. D. s. BAiQRows JOURNAL BOX Filed Sept. 8,1954

Patented Jan. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES 2,028,039 JOURNAL BOX Donald S. Barrows, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to The Symington Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Maryland Application September 8, 1934, Serial No. 743,289

11 Claims. (Cl. 308-50) Another object of my invention is the provision of a. journal box lid with a ventilating duct in whichthe area of the opening from the lid into the associated box is larger than the area of the open outer'end'of the duct, which becomes either entrance or exit, dependingonthe direction of car movement; or relative wind movement. f

A further object of my invention is the provi-- sion of a lid for journal boxes, which lid is formed with a pair of ventilating ducts, one on each side thereof, said ducts being so arranged that one acts for drawing air out of the associated box, while the other acts for forcing it into said box, thereby providing an efficient circulation'of air when the associated car is in motion or when there is a relative wind movement, said ducts being formed so that as much air will pass therethrough in a certain time as is possible, and for that purpose having their outer openings smaller than their inner openings orthose which connect with the box, so that the decrease in pressure difference, tending to cause air movement into or out of said box as the air passes from or to the outer ends of said ducts, is compensated for by the gradual increase in area of said ducts as they extend from the outer to the inner surfaces of the lid.

Other objects and advantages of the invention relating to the particular arrangement and con struction of the-various parts will become ap-i parent as the description proceeds."

Referring to the drawing 'illustratingmy invention, the scope whereof is defined by the appended claims:- j

Figure l is an outside elevation view of a journal box lid embodying my invention, a part of said'lid being shown in section and the lid actuating mechanism omitted. Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view on the the arrows.

Figure 3 is a partial plan and partial horizontal sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, lookingin the direction of the arrows. Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional line 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of View on the line 44 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawing in detail, like parts being designated by like reference characters, there is shown a lid l adapted to be secured to a railway vehicle journal box I in any desired manner as by means including the lid actuating mechanism shown in the Barrows Patent No. 1,882,058 of October 11, 1932. Nothing but the structure of the closure member or lid proper and fragmentary portions of the box are here illustrated, because the invention is independent of the means for connecting the lid to the box or holding it in open or closed position.

In the embodiment illustrated, the lid is formed with a pair of air ducts or passageways 2 and 3. The duct 2-is shown as formed by an outer wall 4 and side walls 5 and 6, said outer wall joining the outer edges of the side walls which extend generally normal to the outer face of the lid I. The duct so formed extends nearly to the edgel of the lid opening at 8 laterally and substantially horizontally so as to align with the normal flow of air past said lid when the associated railway vehicle is in motion. On account of turning from a sub stantially horizontal to a substantially vertical direction as the duct passes from the outer face to the inner face of the lid, the wall 6 is neciessarily curved at its lower portion, as illustrated, and at approximately the mid-point of this curved portion, or where it aligns generally with the mouth 8 of the duct, a relatively small opening 9 is provided in order to serve as a dirt ejector when the duct 2 acts for receiving air for the box, said dirt or other particles heavier than air tending to pass directly horizontally and not turn with the air to pass upward and rearward to the box.

The upper or inner opening Ill of the duct connects with the rear surface of the lid at the top of the vertical arm of the duct 2, said opening l9, however, being in a generally horizontal direction on account of the wall 4 curving toward the plane of the box, as indicated at H.

The air duct 3 is formed similar to the duct 2, having side walls l2 and I3 connected by an outer wall I4 having an outer opening l5 adjacent the edge IB of the lid. The duct 3, like the duct 2, also desirably has a dirt ejector opening l1, and the outer wall I4 is curved at its upper end, as indicated at [8, so that the duct opens in a generally horizontal direction into the associated box i= as indicated at Hi.

In order to provide for the efficient transfer of air through one duct to the box and through the other duct from the box, the outer openings 8 and I of said ducts desirably have areas smaller than the inner openings i6 and IQ of said ducts, the areas throughout the length of said ducts gradually increasing from the outer to the inner openings, as shown most clearly in Figure 4. Although, in the present embodiment, this increase in area is provided by having the outer walls 4 and i l angularly disposed with respect to the main web or plane of the lid, with the side walls 5 and 6 of the duct 2, and I2 and I3 of the duct 3, generally parallel to one another, it will be understood that this change in area may be accomplished in any desired manner, as, for example, by forming the side walls at angles to one another, with the outer walls generally parallel to the main web of .the lid, or by having all of the side walls of the ducts disposed at angles to one another.

The theory underlying the provision of tapering ducts for circulating air through the lid and into and out of the box is that the pressure which forces the air into the outer opening of the forward duct, or that disposed in the direction of motion of the railway vehicle, is a maximum at the entrance to the duct, and this pressure is steadily decreased by internal frictional resistance. Such resistance is relieved to some extent by increasing the area of the duct so that the same volume of air can pass through at steadily decreasing velocity.

The rearward duct exhausts air from the box in accordance with the same .theory except that at the external exit we have-the minimum air pressure because of the partial vacuum created at that point and causing air to flow from the box, first at a very moderate speed through the inner area, and finally at its maximum of speed through the decreased area of the exit.

It will also be seen that this change in area in the ducts is also helpful as avoiding, to some extent, or minimizing the change in velocity of the circulating air as it passes between the ducts and the box at the inner openings of said ducts. It might also be added that this theory has been substantiated by experiments which show that a pair of such ducts force more fresh air into the box and suck more heated or polluted air out of the box than when the ducts are of uniform area or when the entrance or exit is greater than the opening into the box.

Although a preferred embodiment of my invention has been illustrated, it will be understood that modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. It will also be understood that although I have shown dirt ejector openings in the air carrying ducts, these are not essential, and certain objects of my invention may be accomplished without the use of such openings.

I claim:-

I. A journal box lid provided with a passageway for carrying air between an associated box and the exterior thereof, the area of the inner end of said passageway opening into said box being larger than the area of the outer end of said passageway, said outer end normally opening in a generally horizontal direction in order to provide for the efficient movement of said air.

2. A journal box lid provided with a ventilating duct having an inner opening the area of which is larger than the outer opening thereof, the outer end of said duct normally opening in a generally horizontal direction.

3. A journal box lid provided with a generally upright passageway for carrying air into the upper part of an associated box and another generally upright passageway for carrying air out of said box and discharging it below the midportion of said lid, the ends where said passageways join with said box being larger in area than the other ends thereof.

4. A journal box lid having a pair of air ducts extending along normally upright side edge portions thereof, one of which serves for leading air to an associated box, and the other of which serves for leading air from said box, depending on the relative direction of motion of the air with respect to said box, each passageway increasing in area as it passes from the outer face of the lid to the inner face thereof.

5. A journal box lid provided with a duct opening horizontally and laterally on the outer surface of said lid adjacent a lateral edge thereof, bending upwardly, and at its upper end opening inwardly on the inner surface of the lid, said duct having its outer opening smaller than its inner opening and gradually increasing in area from said outer opening to said inner opening, said duct having a relatively small aperture in the curved portion thereof where it bends upwardly for ejecting solid matter therefrom when acting to lead air into the box.

6. A journal box lid provided with an intake or exhaust duct opening horizontally and laterally on the outer surfaceof said lid adjacent a lateral edge thereof, bending upwardly and at its upper end opening inwardly on the inner surface of the lid, an exhaust or intake duct opening horizontally and laterally on the outer surface of the lid adjacent the other lateral edge thereof, bending upwardly and with its upper end opening inwardly on the inner surface of the lid, each duct having its outer opening smaller than its inner opening and gradually increasing in area from said outer opening to said inner opening, each duct acting to lead air into the box or out of said box alternately in accordance with the direction of motion.

7. A journal box lid provided with an intake or exhaust duct opening horizontally and laterally on the outer surface of said lid adjacent a lateral edge thereof, bending upwardly and at its upper end opening inwardly on the inner surface of the lid, an exhaust or intake duct opening horizontally and laterally on the outer surface of the lid adjacent the other lateral edge thereof, bending upwardly and with its upper end opening inwardly on the inner surface of the lid, each duct having. its outer opening smaller than its inner opening and gradually increasing in area from said outer opening to said inner opening, the ducts having relatively small apertures in the adjacent portions where they bend upwardly for ejecting dirt from the duct acting as the air intake, each duct acting to lead air into the box or out of said box alternately in accordance with the direction of motion.

8. A journal box lid provided with a duct opening horizontally and laterally directly to the atmosphere on 'the outer surface of said lid adjacent a lateral edge thereof, bending up- Wardly, and at its upper end opening inwardly gradually increasing in area from said outer" opening to said inner opening, and acting to lead air into the associated box or out of said box, alternately, in accordance with the direction of motion. 7

10. A journal box lid formed with an intake or exhaust duct opening horizontally and laterally on the outer surface of said lid, adjacent a lateral edge thereof, bending upwardly, and, at its upper end, opening inwardly on the inner surface of the lid, said duct having its outer opening smaller than its irmer opening,

and gradually increasing in area from said outer opening to said inner opening, having a relatively small aperture in the portion thereof where it bends upwardly for ejecting dirt when said duct acts as an air intake, said duct acting to lead air into the box or out of said box, alternately, in accordance with the direction of motion.

11. A journal box lid provided with a duct opening horizontally and laterally on the outer surface of said lid, adjacent a lateral edge thereof, bending upwardly, and extending generally parallel to the adjacent edge of said lid, and, at its upper end, opening inwardly on the inner surface of said lid, said duct being formed in a hollow projection on the outer surface of said lid, and having its outer opening smaller than its inner opening, and gradually increasing in area from said outer opening to said inner 20 opening.

DONALD S. BARROWS. 

